Bryan Mbeumo to Man United grows closer as Brentford greenlight £8.5m replacement deal

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Manchester United are closing in on making Bryan Mbeumo their second major signing of the summer.

The summer overhaul at Old Trafford started with a £62.5m deal for Matheus Cunha from Wolves, but Ineos quickly moved on to their next target.

With Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Antony set to leave, more depth is required up front and United submitted a £45m bid for Bryan Mbeumo.

The opening bid was short of Brentford’s £60m valuation, but talks have been ongoing between all parties to agree on a fee.

Despite interest from Tottenham, Mbeumo only wants to join United and personal terms are no issue.

Brentford green light deal for Bryan Mbeumo replacement

One telltale sign that a deal is inching closer is when the selling club move to sign a replacement in the player’s position.

That is exactly what has happened this week with TeamTalk reporting that Brentford have greenlighted a deal for Metz winger Cheikh Sabaly as a replacement for Mbeumo.

Sabaly is available for around €10m (£8.5m) this summer, meaning Brentford are set to bank a huge portion of the imminent Mbeumo sale.

While Sabaly mostly played as a centre-forward last season, his versatility also allows him to play on both the left and right flank.

If Brentford are confident that Sabaly will be arriving in London this summer, then confirmation of a Mbeumo deal should be close.

Ineos will want to complete Bryan Mbeumo deal quickly

With huge pressure on Ruben Amorim to hit the ground running in 2025/26, he will want this summer’s transfer business done quickly so that new signings can take part in the 2025 pre-season schedule.

United’s pre-season starts in July with a friendly against Leeds United before flying out to the United States to take part in the Premier League Summer Series.

Now that it is known that United will play Arsenal on the opening weekend of the Premier League calendar, urgency around transfer deals will be at an all-time high.

READ MORE: Bryan Mbeumo squad number at Man Utd, obvious option is available but Ruben Amorim favourite has his dream

Amorim will want Mbeumo to face Arsenal in the first gameweek, so Ineos will be pushing to get a deal done sooner rather than later.

United still have £100m to spend this summer, so agreeing a fee for Mbeumo shouldn’t be overly difficult, but Ineos will be eager not to overspend this window.